50 



THE BOROUGH OF THE BRONX 



pond out of the Harlem River and the Spuyten Duyvil Creek to 

 supply power to the mills constructed along the Westchester side. 

 There was a stipulation, however, that the dam should be so con- 

 structed as to allow the passage of boats, and that Macomb should 

 always have a person in attendance to afford the desired passage. 

 He neglected, however, to carry out this direction, and not only 

 erected the dam without the specified contrivance, but converted 

 its lip into a permanent bridge, known as Macomb's Dam Bridge, 

 and collected tolls from all who crossed it. The utter obstruction 



Courtesy Department of Bridges, City of Neio York 



Macomb's Dam Bridge in 1861 



of the river thus introduced, continued until 1838. In the mean- 

 time Robert Macomb had become insolvent and his property was 

 now in the possession of the Renwicks. 



Protests were raised against the obstruction of the Harlem 

 River as well as against the unauthorized collection of tolls, but 

 they went unheeded. In 1838, Lewis G. Morris, a member of that 

 family which have always championed the people's rights, devised 

 a plot whereby he would bring the matter to an issue before the 

 courts. 



He built a dock half a mile north of Highbridge and chartered 

 the vessel Nonpareil to carry a load of coal for delivery at Morris 



